Ma consults Lien as probe nears end

Members of the 908 Taiwan Republic Campaign rally in front of the Executive Yuan in Taipei yesterday. They called on Premier Su Tseng-chang to hold Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou to the strictest of legal standards and rescind an award that had been given to him by the Cabinet. PHOTO: CHEN TSE-MING, TAIPEI TIMES

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday held a closed-door meeting with former chairman Lien Chan (連戰) as speculation mounted that Lien might take over as chairman if Ma were indicted for alleged misuse of a special mayoral allowance and resigned.

While two declined to comment on their meeting at Lien's office, KMT Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) said Ma talked about the special mayoral allowance case and the two also discussed the presidential election next year, with both agreeing that the party should elect a candidate that has the best chance of winning.

KMT Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday dismissed speculation that Lien would take over as chairman if Ma were to resign, saying the party would follow regulations and hold an election within three months if the current chairman resigned.

"Chairman Ma will stick to his promise and resign as party chairman if he is indicted," Wu said.

Wu to confirm whether Ma would continue to seek the presidency if he were indicted.

Wu however, that surveys showed Ma's support rate was still higher than potential presidential candidates in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), including Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun and former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷).

As the probe into Ma's use of his special allowance during his tenure as Taipei mayor nears completion, expectations are high that the outcome of the investigation would be announced before the Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb. 18.

Speculation also mounted that Ma may be indicted as the former mayor stepped up appeals to the public to protest his innocence and even visited the Black Gold Investigation Center on Wednesday to explain that he had acted within the law when he wired half of his mayoral allowance to his personal bank account.

Several media outlets also claimed that Ma would be indicted yesterday, but no announcement was forthcoming.

Wu that Ma was worried about the case, but said the party was well-prepared to face the outcome of the investigation.

Meanwhile, DPP Chairman Yu yesterday blasted Ma for trying to appeal to the public by portraying himself as a victim of political persecution.

"Ma said he has no motive [to embezzle half of the special allowance fund], but this does not mean he is not corrupt," he said in a party event in Taitung.

Yu that Ma had come up with five different versions of how he spent his special mayoral allowance since the investigation started and "if one of them was true, that means Ma told four lies."

At a separate event, DPP Legislator Wang Shui-hui (王淑慧) said Ma's comments showed that he failed to make a clear distinction between public and private funds and that would make him guilty even if he did not intend to embezzle the funds.

DPP Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) said Ma's comments on the special allowance were inconsistent as he started out by calling it a public fund, but later termed it a private fund.

Additional reporting by Flora Wang